All Stories
- Health & Medicine
SARS virus can spread in lab animals
At least two types of mammals can acquire and transmit the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Chinese animal traders have high rates of past exposure to the virus.
By Ben Harder - Anthropology
Anklebone kicks up primate debate
The discoverers of a roughly 40-million-year-old anklebone in Myanmar say that it supports the controversial theory that anthropoids, a primate group that includes monkeys, apes, and humans, originated in Asia.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Acid blockers stop stomach ulcers, too
People who get ulcers from frequent use of anti-inflammatory painkillers can lessen their risk by simultaneously taking acid-blocking drugs.
By Nathan Seppa - Earth
Toxic cleanups get a boost
Researchers have developed and field-tested a new technique that identifies specific soil microbes that can break down environmental pollutants.
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Your article brought to mind what could be a biblical description of this phenomenon. In Mark 8:22–26, a blind man reports after an initial healing touch by Jesus that he sees people, but they look like “walking trees.” After a second healing touch, the man sees everything “clearly.” While the account doesn’t specify how long […]
By Science News -
Vision Seekers
An investigation of school-age children who received cataract surgery after being blind from birth examines the extent to which these kids are able to perceive the visual world and the ways in which their brains respond to newfound sight.
By Bruce Bower -
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The irregular satellites of the outer planets are interesting, as reported in this article, but my heart paused when I read “the medium-size Hale Telescope.” That historic 200-inch telescope was the largest in the world for almost 50 years. Incidentally, it’s on Palomar Mountain, not Mount Palomar. Jay M. PasachoffWilliams CollegeWilliamstown, Mass.
By Science News - Planetary Science
Moonopolies
Recently discovered tiny satellites, all orbiting the outer planets in strange paths, may shed new light on a critical last phase in the formation of the planets.
By Ron Cowen - Math
Cool Rationals
It’s curious how some classroom words, activities, or incidents can stick in your mind for years. I can still recall certain grammar rules from lessons long past, for example. When one of these rules comes into play as I write, I can remember not only the teacher’s words but also the tone and manner in […]
- Humans
From the November 11, 1933, issue
RARE BIRD COURTSHIP SHOWN BY NEW MUSEUM GROUP Romantic squires and young knights of the sunset days of feudalism paid court to the lovely ladies of their fancy in elaborately built bowers set in corners of the castle grounds. Even in these livelier days, when troubadours carry saxophones and steel guitars instead of plaintive lutes […]
By Science News -
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This article, implying the demise of the unique Mexico-Canada migration, seems too pessimistic. Monarchs have shown a great degree of adaptability. There are monarchs of the western United States, resident populations in Hawaii and on Caribbean islands, and a migrating population in Australia. I am betting that even if the weather forecast for 2050 is […]
By Science News - Ecosystems
Will Climate Change Depose Monarchs? Model predicts too-wet winter refuges
A computer analysis suggests that eastern monarch butterflies may not be able to tolerate the increasingly moist climate in Mexico, their current wintering site.
By Susan Milius